Jailbreak

Cydia

I don't have any way of testing this myself, but it's not April 1 so I'm going to assume it's legit.

Wired Gadget Lab today put up a feature on Biloop Technologic's "Cry Translator" app, which supposedly listens to the pitch, volume, tone and inflection of a child's cries and analyzes it to determine if the child is in one of five states: hungry, sleepy, stressed, annoyed or bored.

The app seems ready-made for ridicule (really? you need "an app for that?" really? consider a dog instead), though Wired makes a reasonable point: the app is of value to both new parents and caregivers - like babysitters - who haven't had experience in interpreting the cries of an infant.

The developer, Biloop Technologic, claims that clinical tests have proven the app to be accurate 96% of the time. A spokesperson, Lori McKnight, said that the sounds a baby makes are innate to the human, and thus transcend the parents' nationality or language.

There are five distinct cries that have common frequency patterns, regardless of culture or language. A mother learns these over time, but this can help speed up the learning curve, and also help dads and caregivers.

The app is available on iTunes for $29.99 and I would love to hear if anyone with kid-access and $30 to spare (two conditions which seldom both obtain simultaneously) has any experience with this.